Classic Sicilian-American Comfort Food

Eat in or take out at Runaway Meatball

The Runaway Meatball, Shorewood’s newest Sicilian pizza and
sandwich take-out/delivery place, opened in early July. The restaurant took
over the former Mama Mia’s on Oakland Avenue, so it’s perfectly positioned for
quick delivery to the North Shore and UW-Milwaukee neighborhoods. Open daily 11
a.m. to 11 p.m., the Meatball can capture both lunch and dinner crowds.

The small waiting area is clean and unadorned. Simple
folding chairs are provided for those who wish to sit, though there are future
plans to add benches, inside and out. The staff was friendly and the food was
prepared quickly, so the wait was pretty painless.

Runaway Meatball’s menu ranges from specialty sandwiches and
hot dogs to pizzas and creative sides. One dinner, spaghetti and meatballs
($9), is also available.

Meatball subs top the list of sandwiches. The Sicilian
Runaway Meatball is a filling meal with good-sized meatballs smothered in onions,
roasted peppers and marinara, topped with mozzarella cheese and served on a
6-inch Italian roll. It’s also a great value ($6.75). Italian beef and Italian
sausage sandwiches are also good options. For $2 extra, you can make any
sandwich a combo, adding fries, haystack onion rings or potato chips and a
12-ounce soda or bottled water.

The specialty hot dogs are all beef and served on fresh
poppy seed buns. They range in price from $3.50 for a standard dog with
ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles and onions to the $4 chili cheese dog topped
with homemade chili, mustard, onions and cheddar cheese.

The Runaway Meatball’s crisp, thin-crust pizza is an
excellent base for the multitude of toppings available. The specialty pizzas
($15 for the 12-inch; $20 for the 16-inch) allow for a fair amount of
customization and customers can add various toppings to the prescribed
specialties. The meatball pizza comes topped with a liberal amount of
mini-meatballs, a fine substitute for Italian sausage, and includes a choice of
four additional toppings. If you don’t see a combination that suits your taste
among the seven specialty pizzas, there is a create-your-own option sold in
8-inch, 12-inch and 16-inch sizes ($7, $10 and $15). Toppings beyond cheese add
to the base cost of the pizza.

Pleasant surprises can be found on the Runaway Meatball’s
sides menu. The homemade potato chips ($1.95) are outstanding. Freshly made,
perfectly salted and served with a dusting of Parmesan cheese, these chips are
almost worth a visit in and of themselves. Other standout sides include the
haystack onion rings, and home-style mac ’n’ cheese.

Likely to become a popular go-to place for pick-up or
delivery, it will be a pleasure to see the expansion of Runaway Meatball’s
dinner options, as well as the launch of their website and social media
presence in the coming months.

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